Pigmented areas of skin can be either intentionally created, e.g. by tattooing or the result of natural processes, such as the healing of wounds, freckles, age spots, birth marks, etc. For cosmetic or a variety of other reasons, people often wish to have a pigmented area removed from their skin. Topical ointments are often used to try to treat the cause of the pigmentation or to cover it up. However, because the pigment is an integral part of the cells in the dermis, removing the pigmentation is not an easy task and can only be effectively accomplished by destroying and replacing the cells containing the pigment. Known methods of eradicating pigmentation include:                Dermabrasion, wherein skin is “sanded” (i.e., abraded) to remove the layers of skin containing the pigmentation;        Cryosurgery, wherein the pigmented area is frozen prior to its removal; and        Excision, wherein a dermatologic surgeon removes the pigmented skin with a scalpel and closes the wound with stitches. In some cases involving large areas of skin, a skin graft from another part of the body may be necessary.        
These methods are typically quite painful and frequently leave white spots and occasionally scars.
Lasers offer a more precise and generally less damaging alternative to the abovementioned methods. Each procedure is done as a single treatment, or in a series of treatments. Patients may or may not require topical or local anesthesia. Lasers remove the pigment by producing short pulses of intense light, which pass through the top layers of the skin and are then selectively absorbed by the pigment. The laser energy causes the pigment to be fragmented into smaller particles, which are then removed by the body's immune system. One of the problems with laser treatment, especially for the removal of tattoos, is that the absorption of the laser energy is color dependent and that a given laser can only be used to remove pigments in a particular color range. Moreover, there are side effects of laser procedures including occasional burning, scaring, hyper pigmentation (an abundance of color in the skin at the treatment site) and hypo pigmentation (the treated area lacks normal skin color).
Less traumatic methods for removing pigmented areas of skin are described in International Patent Applications WO2004/107995 and WO2005/020828 by the Applicant of the present application, the descriptions of which, including reference cited therein, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. According to the methods described in these publications, the pigmented area of skin is repeatedly punctured by an array of needles attached to a tattooing machine, or similar device. In the method described in the first application, after the skin is punctured by the needles for a given period of time, the punctured section is covered with a suitable adsorbing pad. The pad contains one or more materials, such as saline, which help the pigments that are released from the interior of the damaged cells at the punctured section to migrate into the outer layer of the skin and be absorbed in the pad. The device described in the second application comprises a mediating member attached to a machine and used for repeatedly puncturing the skin. The mediating member is in contact with the skin and provides means for drawing off the cellular fluids and pigments which rise to the skin surface at the site of the punctured skin and for washing the needles and surface of the skin with a suitable liquid if desired.
Another cosmetic problem is scar tissue, which forms when skin tissue heals after an injury. Surgical procedures can be used to remove scar tissue and the application of topical medications can sometimes be used to restore scar tissue to a more natural color and texture. There is need for a procedure for removing scar tissue that avoids the possible risks and complications of surgery, provides complete healing of the skin, and gives faster results than both surgical procedures and treatment with medication.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a method for complete eradication of pigmentation and scar tissue that overcomes the limitations of the prior art methods.
Further purposes and advantages of this invention will appear as the description proceeds.